CULTURE AND SPORT

Atlantis is poised to blaze a path into history when it propels toward the heavens on the last-ever mission of American space shuttle programme.

Up to 140,000 Philippine workers could lose their jobs in Saudi Arabia due to a domestic helper ban, the Filipino labour minister said Thursday.

The stars of "Harry Potter" worked the red carpet for the last time together before the world premiere of the saga's final installment.

The European Central Bank stuck to its guns Thursday, hiking interest rates to tame inflation, and offering help for Portuguese banks.

Two Phu Quoc ridgeback dogs will attend the FCI World Dog Show 2011 to be held in Paris from July 7-10.

China's media said reports claiming former president Jiang Zemin had died were "pure rumour".

A powerful 7.6-magnitude undersea earthquake triggered tsunami alerts for New Zealand and Tonga.

At least 36 people are trapped underground at a coal mine in eastern China after a fire broke out, state media reported Thursday.

Violinist Do Phuong Nhi, 13, will join the Vietnam National Symphony Orchestra to perform in major cities in a concert tour held by Toyota Vietnam.

Doctors in Britain revealed they have developed a new model to help determine which pregnancies run a higher risk of miscarriage.

China raised a key interest rate Wednesday for a third time this year as it tries to cool surging inflation.

The world needs $1.9 trillion in green technology investments a year, with over half of that sum necessary for developing countries," the UN said.

Vietnamese athletes Ngo Huu Ky Phong and Le Thanh Cong both won gold medals at the Special Olympics World Summer Games Athens 2011.

Influential US artist Cy Twombly, who died aged 83, was a key figure in the post-war abstract art world with a career spanning six decades.

About 200 people drowned in the Red Sea when a boat carrying migrants to Saudi Arabia sank off the Sudanese coast, Sudanese media say.

The latest "Pirates of the Caribbean" blockbuster has crossed the billion-dollar mark at the global box office, Disney said Tuesday.

The World Trade Organisation ruled Tuesday against China's export restrictions on raw materials.

Japan will conduct a "stress test" on all its nuclear plants following the crisis at the tsunami-struck Fukushima Daiichi plant, Japanese media said.

Vietnamese -French artist Nguyen Le will bring his world music and jazz to the Music on the Roof show at the Rooftop Bar, in Hanoi, on July 12-13.